Reaching the Top in Canadian Librarianship: A Biographical Study of Sex Differences in Career Development

Abstract

Male and female directors of academic, government, and large public library systems across Canada participated in intensive biographical interviews about their careers. The results of the interviews revealed a number of differences in the career paths followed by men and women prior to their appointments as directors. Most notably, the men put in fewer years of service than did the women prior to their first appointment as library director, and the men were more likely to have been appointed from outside the institution. The female directors of large public library systems were more likely than male directors to have spent time working in the position of deputy director. In accounting for their successes, more of the women mentioned that their careers had been influenced by a mentor. Also, the men were more likely than the women to describe their career moves as part of a plan.